she's walking away, not going to even pay...
Here is the letter she sent out:
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Friends,
As we celebrate the victory of President Biden and Vice President Harris, I
feel relief and hope for our collective future. After four years of a federal
government focused on defunding community supports and attacking our most
vulnerable neighbors, I know first hand what a difference this election will
make for our community. Thank you to everyone in Ward 10 and across Minneapolis
who turned out to vote in record numbers! Never doubt that your vote and your
voice make a difference.
With attention turning to our upcoming local elections soon, I want to share
more widely that I will not seek re-election to the City Council in 2021. It
has been an incredible honor to serve our community and work beside you for the
past seven years. When I made the decision not to run for a third term, well
before multiple crises hit our city, I was reflecting on all that we have
accomplished together.
We passed Minnesota’s first earned safe and sick time and $15 minimum wage
laws. We completely re-oriented street design to support equitable mobility,
safety and sustainability. We secured the land and lease rights needed to
reconnect Nicollet Avenue at Lake Street with an opportunity to redevelop the
K-Mart site as an asset for equity and connectivity.
We spent years engaging our community in a ground-breaking Minneapolis 2040
plan which not only eliminated exclusionary housing laws but is driving a focus
on equity and sustainability in everything the City does. We legalized
mutli-family housing citywide and focused growth along sustainable
transportation corridors, required affordable housing in new apartments,
legalized homeless shelters and tiny homes, passed the state’s first Fair
Chance renter protection laws, adopted a Renter First policy, provided legal
services for renters facing eviction and started holding problem landlords
accountable. By taking a Citywide approach to housing and infrastructure we
created a values-based, policy-driven approach that future policymakers can
continue to shape and build upon.
Our work, informed by the priorities in Ward 10, directly improved hundreds of
thousands of lives in Minneapolis and inspired change in other Minnesota cities
and across the country. In doing this we redefined success centered in race
equity and reducing our impact on climate change: the imperative work that must
continue.
It has been an honor to work with and support the people and organizations who
are building a powerful movement for justice in our City. We have made visible
changes through ordinances, policy and budgets and we have started the equally
important behind-the-scenes work of structural changes within the City’s
government to sustain this work. We have made progress at leveling the playing
field in our community and there is so much more to do.
In the midst of a pandemic, a housing crisis, an economic crisis and the local
and global call for justice following George Floyd’s murder, this work must
deepen and accelerate. It is imperative that we all work together to ensure our
community addresses persistent racial disparities in health, employment and
housing, meets our greenhouse gas reduction goals, and builds a system of
safety that works better to keep everyone safe. We cannot take for granted that
this will continue, that future leaders will center these goals and be able to
break through all of the barriers to actually get things done, especially with
two Mayoral elections and three City Council elections coming in the next six
years. It will take leadership, organizing, and your continued support for this
work.
During my time in office I have learned so much: about people, about power and
about how systems work to support or to stop change. I still believe in the
power of each and every person to make a difference. I have seen it. More than
anything, I want each of you to know that you are powerful, that what you do
and say matters, that the future you imagine is possible. It is hard work and
the barriers are many but you can make it so.
Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to share yourself with me: your
time, your ideas, your support and critiques. Thank you to the volunteers who
met at my kitchen table eight years ago and to everyone who made phone calls,
knocked on doors and talked to your neighbors to increase voter turnout in our
ward where 80% of neighbors rent their homes -- you are the foundation that
future progressive campaigns can build upon.
I am deeply appreciative of the thoughtful and smart change-makers who have
supported the Ward 10 office and who I’ve gotten to partner with in City Hall.
Thank you particularly to the folks who went out of your way to share a kind
word, to make me laugh or to ask if I needed anything -- this support has meant
so much to me.
And to my three favorite people: thank you for your patience and support for
the past eight years, I love you so very much.
all my best,
Lisa
Copyright © 2020 Neighbors for Lisa Bender, All rights reserved.
Lisa Bender emails 8/8/2016
Our mailing address is:
Neighbors for Lisa Bender
PO Box 80344
Minneapolis, MN 55408-8344
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